Island Authority's future a hot topic

Buck Lee, Executive Director of the Santa Rosa Island Authority, answers questions during a public forum hosted by the West Florida Regional Planning Council on Thursday at the Pensacola Beach Community Church to get input on what services should be provided by the Santa Rosa Island Authority and how they should be funded.(Photo: Ben Twingley/btwingley@pnj.com)Buy Photo

Story Highlights

Retiring SRIA Public Safety Director Bob West says Island Authority on way out

Board member Karen Sindel confident SRIA will remain in some form

SRIA board to implement dollar-for-dollar policy in which master leaseholders only receive lease fee reduction if they divide savings among their sublessees

When Escambia County commissioners voted last week to slash the Santa Rosa Island Authority budget in half and hand control of its Public Works Department and Public Safety Department to the county, the Island Authority's future came into question.

"Clearly the Island Authority is on its way out," the 59-year-old West said. "Two things you have to have to make a good beach is a clean beach and safe beach and those two departments are out."

The state will ultimately determine the fate of the Island Authority. Florida legislature created the SRIA by Special Act in 1947 and has final say.

SRIA board member Karen Sindel is confident SRIA will remain in some form.

"We made it very clear we were not having a conversation with the county about doing away with Island Authority," she said. "... I don't know what that presence will look like. The island is the county's largest park. We're always going to need a bit more attention than other areas of the community."

The 68-year-old Lee attended the SRIA board meeting Wednesday night, but he exited early, complaining of flu-like symptoms. Lee spent the night in a room at Gulf Breeze Hospital and remained there as of Thursday afternoon. Candy McGuyre, director of marketing for Baptist Healthcare, declined to reveal his status, at his request.

Pensacola Beach resident Linda Leithner sent Commissioner Grover Robinson IV (District-4) an email after news broke about Lee and West leaving the Island Authority. Leithner raved about the SRIA in the email and questioned why the Board of County Commissioners is changing the landscape. She suggested the commissioners send a portion of leaseholders' tax money back to the Island Authority and let SRIA continue to run the operation.

"Everyone is always afraid of change," Leithner said, "but they're seriously concerned about the county's ability to manage important aspects of the beach from the mainland."

Robinson described Lee as the best executive director in SRIA history, and he said in a perfect world they would revert to when residents only paid lease fees. Court rulings supersede his wishes, though.

"It's a new age dealing with what's going to be a new Island Authority," Robinson said. "I can't get rid of the taxes, but I can get rid of the lease fees, and that'll change the Island Authority."

About an hour after Lee left for the hospital Wednesday night, board chairwoman Tammy Bohannon announced he submitted his letter of resignation. That news overshadowed the fact the board spent about an hour discussing implementing a policy to motivate master leaseholders to share their savings with sublessees.

Last year, the Florida Supreme Court ruled in favor of the county taxing property values. That ruling led county commissioners to approve an SRIA budget ordinance last week in which lease fees will be reduced by a minimum of 50 percent for beach residents.

The reduction in fees is only for master leaseholders, though. Sindel said master leaseholders of both condominium apartments and single-family houses will receive the 50 percent discount, not their sublessees. There are 29 master leaseholders on the island and slightly more than 2,400 sublessees.

SRIA board members spoke in the public forum about implementing a dollar-for-dollar policy in which the 29 master leaseholders only receive the lease fee reduction if they divide the savings among their sublessees. For example, if a master leaseholder saves $50,000 and has 10 sublessees, each of the sublessees would save $5,000.

"What we're doing is we're trying to provide an incentive for the master leaseholders to do this pass-through," said Sindel, a sublessee herself.

Bohannon said the sublessees should receive a 50-percent discount, too, but Island Authority attorney Mike Stebbins told her that is not an option.

"We have no control over these master leaseholders," Stebbins said. "… If we're looking to find a mechanism that would more likely at least provide some type of pass-through, it would be dollar for dollar as opposed to a percentage."

The board members assigned Stebbins to write the document and scheduled a special board meeting for Aug. 26 to pass the dollar-for-dollar policy. There is a sense of urgency to pass the policy by the end of the month so Ford can include the document when mailing out the October bill.

Beach renourishment

The SRIA board addressed Pensacola Beach renouishment at its Wednesday meeting. Board members approved Weeks Marine, Covington, La., as beach renourishment contractor, contingent on receiving an Army Corp permit and the state plugging in the totals and then writing its matching grant.

Last summer, county commissioners approved a 1,750,000-cubic-yard renourishment project to restore 8.1 miles along the Gulf side of the beach. The commissioners co-signed a loan for the SRIA to cover half the expense with the matching state grant covering the other half.

Assuming the two items come to fruition, Weeks Marine will begin the project as early as Nov. 1 and no later than Dec. 3. Ghio said Weeks Marine agreed to a 100-day completion window, and the project will be completed before spring break.

"At the end of the project, it'll look like a farmer coming out here with his plow," Ghio said. "It fluffs up the beach that has been done."